baristas and more). The contests included the finals of the Bocuse d'Or, in which Denmark won the prestigious trophy considered as the grail, the ultimate token of recognition for chefs all around the planet. Sirha boasted an additional seventh hall this year to accommodate several thousand exhibitors and brands covering 12 sectors. This means the 225,000 professionals visiting from across the globe enjoyed an even broader offering. Marie-Odile Fondeur, managing director of Sirha, says the most prestigious players in pastry and gastronomy today and tomorrow come to meet and exchange at the largest gathering of chefs on the planet. Food Service Vision and Sirha carried out a large-scale, multi-source survey to capture the major current and short-term influences in foodservice. There are seven main influences that concern four categories of trends: Awareness (Flexitarism and Responsibility) Wellbeing (Naturally good) Territoriality (Locavorism and Globalisation) Augmented Experience (Convenience and Emotions) These precursory signs already affect all sectors of catering and foodservice and will become increasingly important within the next three years. Global insights Here are some excerpts from bake's interview with Fondeur: What are the emerging trends for this edition of Sirha? Fondeur: We have a network of events and global partners and continually exchange with players in the foodservice industry. This puts us in a unique and privileged position. Thanks to this intimacy with the many different facets of the market, we can spot the emerging influences well in advance. For this edition we have identified and reviewed seven influences that will be represented throughout our demonstration sections. Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact they have on our environment but also of what's good for their health. They also want to find establishments that offer actual emotional 20 < MAR 2019 | bakemag.comhttp://www.bakemag.com